ARTICLE IX BID EVALUATION

SEC. 30. Preliminary Examination of Bids. - Prior to Bid evaluation, the BAC shall examine first the technical components of the bids using "pass/fail" criteria to determine whether all required documents are present. Only bids that are determined to contain all the bid requirements of the technical component shall be considered for opening and evaluation of their financial component.

SEC. 31. Ceiling for Bid Prices. - The ABC shall be the upper limit or ceiling for the Bid prices. Bid prices that exceed this ceiling shall be disqualified outright from further participating in the bidding. There shall be no lower limit to the amount of the award.

SEC. 32. Bid for the Procurement of Goods and Infrastructure Projects. - For the procurement of Goods and Infrastructure Projects, the BAC shall evaluate the financial component of the bids. The bids that passed the preliminary examination shall be ranked from lowest to highest in terms of their corresponding calculated prices. The bid with the lowest calculated price shall be referred to as the "Lowest Calculated Bid."

SEC. 33. Bid Evaluation of Short Listed Bidders for Consulting Services. - For the Procurement of Consulting Services, the Bids of the short listed bidders shall be evaluated and ranked using numerical ratings in accordance with the evaluation criteria stated in the Bidding Documents, which shall include factors such as, but not limited to, experience, performance, quality of personnel, price and methodology. The Bids shall be ranked from highest to lowest in terms of their corresponding calculated ratings. The Bid with the highest calculated rating shall be the Highest Rated Bid. After approval by the Head of the Procuring Entity of the Highest Rated Bid, the BAC shall invite the bidder concerned for negotiation and/or clarification on the following items: financial proposal submitted by the bidder, terms of reference, scope of services, methodology and work program, personnel to be assigned to the job, services/facilities/data to be provided by the Procuring Entity concerned, and provisions of the contract. When negotiations with the first-in-rank bidder fails, the financial proposal of the second rank bidder shall be opened for negotiations: Provided, That the amount indicated in the financial envelope shall be made as the basis for negotiations and the total contract amount shall not exceed the amount indicated in the envelope and the ABC. Whenever necessary, the same process shall be repeated until the bid is awarded to the winning bidder.